If the St. Helens Lions were riding high off their 47-6 takedown of the Milwaukie/Milwaukie Academy of the Arts Mustangs last Friday, their most recent game may have dampened their spirits a bit. St. Helens took a hard 27-12 fall against Seaside on Friday. Having soared to a lofty 47 points in the game before, St. Helens couldn't push the score so high this time.
When it comes to explaining why St. Helens lost, one person who can't be blamed is Aaron Liebelt. Despite the final result, he threw for 167 yards and two touchdowns.
Ryder Jackson was his usual excellent self, rushing for 187 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 8.5 yards per carry. Jackson has been hot recently, having posted 100 or more rushing yards the last four times he's played.
The team's defense also helped out by holding St. Helens to a paltry 167 yards. A big part of that defensive dominance came down to Seaside's ability to keep the quarterback under pressure: the team laid him out three times before it was all said and done. In that department, Jake White was the leader with two sacks.
St. Helens bumped their record down to 5-4 with that loss, which was their third straight on the road. The slump could be explained by some tough opposition over that stretch, namely Seaside, Scappoose, and Tillamook. As for Seaside, they are on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six games, which provided a nice bump to their 7-3 record this season.
St. Helens does not have any more games scheduled as of now. Seaside will be playing in front of their home fans against Estacada at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Each of these teams will be battling to keep a three-game winning streak alive.
